South by Southwest Festival

Area musicians headed to Austin

South by Southwest

This year, bands and songwriters representing Columbus are among the thousands of guests — via both sanctioned showcases and countless unofficial parties — set to perform at the annual South by Southwest festival, a veritable who’s who of trendsetting performers and music-industry leaders.

Hip crowds that stroll the packed streets of Austin, Texas, this week will be privy to plenty of
sounds honed in central Ohio.

Bands and songwriters representing Columbus are among the thousands of guests — via both
sanctioned showcases and countless unofficial parties — set to perform at the annual South by
Southwest festival, a veritable who’s who of trendsetting performers and music-industry
leaders.

“It’s a schmooze-fest,” said Jerry DeCicca, 37, who, as the result of a 2005 gig there with his
band, the Black Swans, found a European distributor for the Columbus group’s debut album. “It’s a
good opportunity to give a lot of different people the chance to see you.”

The Black Swans will play five shows in Austin this week.

The festival, also known as SXSW, has expanded since its 1987 inception into a massive two-week
affair with breakout sessions focused on interactive media, film and music.

Last year’s gathering pumped more than $167 million into the city’s economy — a 47 percent
increase over 2010, according to the
Austin American-Statesman.

Attendance, which set a record in 2011, tallied a whopping 286,000.

For musicians seeking exposure, the city swarms with publicists, label executives and bookers.
In a sense, it’s akin to New York Fashion Week.

Landing stage time, however, is selective. Of the more than 10,000 hopefuls that applied,
2,000-plus acts were chosen last year for the SXSW roster.

Yet the mere proximity to the festival is just as important for breakout bands — as evidenced by
myriad bashes sponsored by big-name companies and off-the-radar shows looking to attract an
audience (a simple task, bolstered by the lure of gift bags — or, better, free beer — and the
prospect of shorter lines).

For the second year, a 13-hour marathon of central Ohio bands will constitute the free “We Are
Columbus” concert, beginning at 1 p.m. Friday in the Treehouse Bar, 501 E. 6th St., in downtown
Austin.

For many groups, the event is a motivator.

“Sometimes, it’s about just doing it because you need to,” said North Side singer-guitarist Andy
Shaw, 31, who is helping organize and will also play at the event — to “start planting seeds that
will turn into great big trees.”

Travel and venue expenses have been eased by a $5,000 fundraising campaign plus sponsorship from
Columbus-based companies such as Red Roof Inn and Cameron Mitchell Restaurants.